White Lotus
by Sanjima
Summary: A story about a twins in their youth that would later be know as Byakuren and Myouren. Inspired by many Byakuren-related doujinshi stuffs I've read and heard, particularly the song "White Lotus" by Liz Triangle.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there, before we begin with the fanfic, I'd like to say that English isn't my first language, so please forgive me there are some mistakes in vocabulary and phrasing, I'll try my best to avoid them, but please forgive me if I make mistakes. Now, onward with the fanfic.**

* * *

Chapter 1: A dirty mud.

It was around 1000 years ago in the country of the far east, when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their at their height. The people's appreciation for literature and arts also rise, which lead to many wonderful masterpiece being created. It was a time of peace and tranquility for everybody in that country.

Or was it…?

…

"Get that brat for me! She stole the meat buns from my store!" Shouts a middle age man, who is chasing after a small girl dresses in rag.

The girl dresses in rag try to run away from the man as fast as she could. She sneaks into small crowds of people passing by to shake off the man, then she quickly run into a small alley nearby to hide.

"Haa… Haa… Haa…" The girl gasps for air from all the running. She stands there in the dark alley for a brief moment to rest, then she carefully take a peek out of the alley and no longer see the man anywhere near there.

Maybe I lost him, she thought.

Just to be sure, she take a look around one more time to definitely confirm that she actually has lost the man. And again, the man is nowhere to be found.

Finally got away from the man, the girl jumps with joy. The girl takes out the two meat buns she just stole and look at it, she slightly smiles. Then, with the meat buns in hands, the girl leaves the dark alley.

But…

"Hey, where do you think you're going, little girl?"

Someone from behind pulls the girl back into the alley and force the girl down to the ground. The meat buns fall out of the girl's hands and roll into the pile of trash in the alley.

"Ah, what are those?" The man look over to those meat buns, while still forcing down the girl on the ground. "Ah, aren't those meat buns? Hey, little girl, didn't your parents teach you that stealing is bad?"

"Hmnn…" The girl struggles to break off the man's restrain but in vein. The man himself is not one who can be called healthy or strong, he's just a homeless beggar who is slowly dying from starvation in that alley. But the girl is just a frail little girl who only look about 7 or 8 years old, there's no way she can fight off the man.

"Ah, but that's alright… I'll just take these meat buns and forgive you…" The beggar reaches out to pick the meat buns with his left hand. "This way, you won't b accuse of being a thief anymore… Now, be a good girl and get lost."

The beggar let go of the girl, stands up and walks away like nothing just happened. A faint small tear rolls down the little girl's cheek, but she immediately sweep it away and get up from the ground and chase after the beggar. She bumps into him from behind and the two fall down to the ground one more time, then she bites his right arm and uses her hands to crawl the beggar's face.

"Aghhh!" The beggar screams in pain and let go of the meat buns.

The girl let go of the beggar and quickly runs to pick up the meat buns.

"You… That hurts like hell, you little brat!" The beggar get up from the ground, grabs a piece of splinter, walks up to the girl and smash down that splinter onto the girl's back, rapidly, furiously, until splinter breaks into small pieces.

"…" Even with her back got all cut and bruised from being hit by the beggar, the girl still refuses to give up. Frustrated, the man tears apart the girl's cloth and grabs her hair.

"Hmn?" The beggar only notices it now, notices that… "You have blond hair?" that the girl has blond hair."

"Ahaha…" The beggar breaks out in laughter, and then smash the girl's head to the hard ground. "Blond hair? What are you suppose to be? Some kind of youkai, huh?"

"…" The girl doesn't respond back to the beggar.

"Haa…" The beggar sighs. "Hey, you damn brat…" He continues to smash the girl's head to the ground as he say. "If you're suppose to be a youkai…" He smashes the girl's head to the ground again. "Why bother with human's food?" Again. "Give them to me!" And again. "Do you hear me!"

Blood flow out of the little girl's forehead and stained the ground. The little girl can't possibly endure much more tormenting. She finally gives up, she takes out a meat bun and gives it to the beggar.

"Please…" The girl begs the beggar. "Please, have a mercy…"

The beggar takes the meat bun from the girl's hands immediately, but he doesn't leave the girl after that. Instead, he kicks the girl into her stomach continuously, he yells. "You damn little brat! A filthy youkai like you doesn't deserve to eat human's food! Go eat some crap!"

"Please…" The girl cower into a corner of the alley, she continues to be the man. "Please, I beg of you… It's just a meat bun…"

"Right, it's just a meat bun, right?" The beggar continues kicking the girl. "So shut up and give it to me already!"

"…" The girl stop responding to the beggar, she holds the meat bun into her chest and braces herself against the man.

"Tcht…"The beggar seems to have gotten bored with kicking the girl after a while, so he stops and goes to sit in the corner of the alley. "If you want it so badly, then have it… You damn little brat…" He then proceed to devour the meat bun that he just acquire.

The little slowly get herself up from the ground, she takes the meat bun out and carefully brushes off the dirt from it. After that, she unsteadily walks out of the alley and away from that area.

That's right… This is the sad reality of this so called "peace and tranquility". The aristocrats wage war against each other to claim power, famine and plague spreads across the country, youkai roams the land like they own the place, countless innocent lives were lost, agriculture came to a halt, food production declines without showing any signs of stopping. All of these have made lives of people worse lives in hell, where people would be willing to hurt each other just for some little meat buns. This period isn't "peace and tranquility" at all, it's a big pile of dirty mud…

…

Later that day, somewhere on the outskirt of that town, there is a boy sitting in a corner of an old rundown house, waiting for someone.

The boy looks around the same age as the little girl earlier. Like that little girl, the boy doesn't wear actual clothes, instead he just wraps himself in a small piece of dirty cloth to keep himself warm. And one more thing that makes the boy similar to that girl: He also has very distinct beautiful blond hair just like her.

*creak*

The crumbling door of the already rundown house slightly opened, making squeaky, annoying sounds.

The boy quickly turns torward the door to see who was it that opened the door. Timidly, he asks "Sis?"

The door's opened wide, letting a glimpse of faint light from outside into the house, outside the door stood the little girl with blond hair. The girl look at the boy in the house, slightly smile and says "I'm back…"

The boy gets up from where he was sitting and quickly runs torward the girl. He hold out his hands and reach the girl's face, he looks at her face, filled with mud, dirt and blood. Not just her face, her cloth is torn and her whole body is cover in bruises and cuts. The boy can't help but cry at the sight. "Sis… Why are you so beaten up like this? Did you get bully again…?"

"Come on now… It's just a few scratches. Nothing you should worry about." The girl pets her little brother's head. "Besides, I'm used to this already…"

Yes, she's already used to it, because she's been beaten up badly almost every single day for as long as she could remember, just because she has different hair color from other humans.

At that time, having blond hair isn't uncommon among those who live in that country, but that only apply to those who are not human, youkai. As for the human on the other hand, only black and white are consider natural hair color, and anyone who's unfortunate enough to be born with different hair color are consider to be cursed, or some kind of half breed, or mosnters, or something worse…

And this pair of sister and brother, or to be more accurate, twins, were born with natural blond hair. And as a result, the twins and their parents were constantly mocked, abused, spitted at, throwed rocks at, and many more terrible things… Their parents tried to endure the pain as much as they could for the sake of their children, but they soon grow tired at everything… and abandoned the twins when they were not even 3 yet.

The twins were abandoned by their parents, but at least they still have each other, that would be enough for them to keep on living. That's what the older sister has always believe in for the past 5 years, and she will keep believing in it for so long as they are still walking on this earth.

"Ah, here…" The girl takes out the meat bun and gives it to the boy. "Some kind old man gave it to me. You're hungry, aren't you? So come on, eat it."

"Sis…" The boy takes the meat bun, but he doesn't eat it yet. He asks his older sister "Aren't you hungry, too?"

"Nah…" The girl shooks her head. "You can have it. I already ate mine before I got back."

"Don't lie to me, sis…" The boy divide the meat bun into two and shove one half into the girl's hands. "If there's another one, you would have wait until you get back here to eat together with me…"

"Ah ha ha…" The girl breaks out into laughter, and then pet the boy's head. "You're a smart boy, you know that? Well then, let's eat together!"

The twins sit down in a corner of the house, and start to eat the shared meat bun.

"Ack, hu hu hu…" The boy coughs furiously.

"Are… Are you alright? Did you catch a cold again?" The girl pat the back of her younger brother to eases his coughing.

Although they are suppose to be twins, the girl was born as a perfectly healthy normal girl. Whereas, the boy was borned with a very frail body. The boy has went through nurmerous illnesses since he was born, although he does get more healthy as he become older, but he still frequently catches terrible cold. That's why even though he really want to go together with his sister and help her searching for food, he usually has to stay behind or he will suddenly catch some kind of terrible disease when he's outside, and he knows that that will only make his sister more worried…

"I'm alright…" The boy reassures his sister. "It's just some little coughs, you don't need to worry… Besides, I'm used to this already…"

"Oh, you little brat." The girl knocks her little brother's head. "I guess I don't have to worry if you can joke around like that." Then she goes back to finish her half meat bun.

"Ah ha…" The boy laughs timidly. The boy looks out of the broken window of the house, like he's thinking deeply about something.

"What's wrong?" Noticing her brother staring off into space, the girl asks.

"Sis…" The boy turns to look at his sister's face, and then turns to look at the window again. "Don't you think it would be wonderful, if everybody in this world just get along with each other? "

"Well, of course I do." The girl replies. "If everybody get along with each other, then we won't have to worry about food or a place to sleep anymore."

"Well, yes… That, too…" The boy looks down to the ground. "But… What I mean is… We're treated harshly like this because we… looks different from them, right?"

"What do you mean?" The girl tilts her head in wonder.

"I mean… Why are we being treated harshly because we are different? The lords and the servants aren't alike, the servants and the merchants aren't alike, the merchants and the farmers aren't alike… Even as twins, we aren't alike… Why do people hate someone for being different when everybody is different?"

"…" The girl doesn't know what to say, she just… looks at her little brother with amazement.

"…"

…

The silence goes on for a while.

Feeling uneasy with the silence that surrounds the twins, the girl pats her little brother's back and laughs, she says. "What are you being serious all of the sudden for? Trying to act cool won't bring you food. Now, hurry and finish the meat bun or I'll eat it for you."

"Ah, yes… Okay, sis…" The boy hurriedly finishes off what little left off the meat bun, but his mind is still thinking about the question earlier.

Why do people hate someone for being different when everybody is different?

Little did the boy, nor his sister, know that that question that suddenly popped up in his mind, would later drastically change the fate of the twins, and this big pile of dirty mud.

…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The temple on the mountain.

Today like other days, the older of sister of the twins, dresses in rag and goes into town, act as a beggar to beg passerby for food. But these days, the girl notices that…

"Did you visit temple Chugosonshi yet?"

"Oh, yes… I just went there yesterday to pray that we have an abundant harvest this year. Last year harvest was such a disaster…"

"Why did you go to a temple that worships a war god to pray for an abundant harvest for? If anything, you should have prayed that there won't be any more wars this year."

"Oh dear… How silly of me. Maybe I should go visit the temple again tomorrow and change my wish then."

… That these days, everybody keep talking about some kind of temple on a mountain nearby.

Is that temple something really that amazing that people around here would rather waste their time to climb all the way up some mountain to pray to some kind of god of war at that whatever temple, instead of using those precious time to work on the farm? The girl thought.

The girl, sit in a valley looking out to the street, tilts her head in wonder, and keep thinking about the temple. Then the girl hears something interesting coming from a young woman in that group of women chatting together.

The young woman says "I don't know about that… Sure, people keep saying left and right that Bishamonten would grants you your wishes if you come to the temple Chougosonshi and pray sincerely. But the walking all the way up to mount Shigi is just too tiring, I don't think you should waste your time going up there a second time. Plus, there's just too much dirty orphans gathering there with some hopeful wish to get accepted into the temple. It makes the temple doesn't seems all that… divine."

Orphans gathering at the temple in hope to get accept in? Did she hear that right?

"So a temple is a place where orphans go to find a place to say, I see…" The girl absent-mindedly says to herself.

Then, like she just suddenly figured out something, the let out a large "Oooh…"

"Oh but wait…" And she suddenly freaked out like whatever she just thought of has just abruptly come into a crashing end. "Where's that mister Shigi?"

"This isn't good." The girl scratches her head. "If I don't know where he is, then how are we gonna ask him to stay at his temple?"

Then, the girl looks out to group of chatting women on the street. She wonders if any of the women would her tell her where this Shigi person is if she asks politely.

"But that would make too much attention." The girl scowls.

To avoid attention, the girl has already covers her hair using a cloth she picked up in the rundown house where she and her brother spend the night, and sit in a valley. If she goes out to the street and directly talk to one of the women, she would really stand out in the street, and when someone noticed that she has blond hair, everybody would start to gang up on her and beat her up horribly again.

"Haa…" The girl sighs.

"What seems to be the problem, little girl?" A young woman comes over to the girl and asks.

"Ah…" The girl's surprised by the woman's sudden question, and was unable to answer.

"I was standing over there with my friends when I saw you sitting here in the valley with a troubled look. Are you perhaps hungry?" The young woman asks. She then takes out something in the basket she's holding, and gives it to the girl. "Here, a rice ball."

The girl timidly holds out her hands to accept the rice ball. "Thank… Thank you." The girl says timidly.

"You're welcome." The young woman smiles kindly. "Now go ahead, eat it."

"Ah, thank you for your kindness…" The girl bows to the young woman. "But can I not eat the rice ball here?"

"And why is that?" The young woman asks.

"I have a sick little brother waiting at home for me. I want to save this rice ball for him." The girl answers.

"Oh, is that so?" The young woman then take out another rice ball from the basket and give it to the girl. "Here, this one is for your brother."

"Are… Are you really giving it to me? Can I really have it?" The girl asks timidly.

"Yes, really. In this time of trouble, we all should help each other out, right?" The young woman smiles kindly again.

"Oh, thank you so much, miss. I wish that good fortune will always be with you. Ah, wait…" The girl suddenly remember what was troubling in the first place, she then asks the young woman about it. "Miss, can… Can I ask you another favor?"

"What is it now? Aside from your brother, your parents are also sick or something?" The young woman says jokingly.

"Ah, no no…" The girl flustered. "I just want to know where this mister Shigi that you and your friends were talking about."

"Mister Shigi?" The young woman is confused.

"That mister Shigi with that temple… something that orphans can gather there to ask for a place to stay?" The girl explains.

"Ah… You mean mount Shigi and temple Chougosonshi?"

"?" Now the girl is the one who is confused.

The young woman then proceed to explain everything about mount Shigi and temple Chougosonshi: She says that Shigi is a name of a mountain, not a person, and it's located just a little bit to the west of the town they are living. She says that mount Shigi was said to be a holy place that was provided with divine protection from the deity of war, the Bishamonten. And that when you climb up the mountain and pray to Bishamonten with sincerity, your wishes will come true.

"Ah… So that's why everybody keep mentioning about that temple lately… But then, why haven't I hear anyone talking about it before? People only start to talk about that temple just recently." The girl asks the young woman.

"Because this year is the year of the tiger." The young woman answers. "Legend says that the Bishamonten first appeared in the year of the tiger, so people thought that telling their wishes in the year of the tiger would be more effective."

"Oh, I see…" Then, the girl stand up and bows down to the young woman. "Thank you very much for your kindness, miss. I have to go now, sorry for taking too much of your time."

"Ah, it's no problem at all. Glad I could help." The young woman smiles, and waves her hand to bid the girl farewell. "Goodbye, hope to see you again someday."

"I hope to see you again someday, too." The girl bows down the young woman one more time, then runs off, waving back to the young woman as she runs.

Don't you think it would be wonderful, if everybody in this world just get along with each other?

The girl remembers back to what her brother said the other day. And a small but brilliant smile blooms on her face.

…

* * *

"Just… Just how far... is it… until we reach… that temple, sis?" The brother complains while trying his best to gasps for air.

The twins have left the town and went to climb the mountain for hours already, but they haven't seen the temple anywhere in sight yet. At this point, even the healthier of the two, the older sister, has begin to feel the fatigue.

"Maybe… it's a little higher up from here. Keep it up!" The sister tries to cheer up her little brother.

"Yes, sis…" The brother nods and obeys his sister to keep moving, while his mouth is still trying to gasps for air and his legs shake so much that he can barely keep walking.

Seeing her brother getting so tired from all the walking, the sister stops her little brother. "We've walked for a long time already, let's rest a little."

"Yes, sis…"

The twins then go and sit under a big tree nearby the road. After they sit down, the sister start to tell her brother about the young woman she met earlier.

"You know why I knew about the temple up here? It's that kind sister who gave us the rice balls that told me!" She says.

"Uh huh…" The brother nods slightly.

"You see… Not only did she gave us the rice balls, she also told me so many things interesting about that temple and this mountain. She told me that there's supposed to be some kind god living on this temple, and that the temple up there was built to honor that god. And… And in the year of the tiger, that means it's this year, if you climb all the way the mountain and goes into the temple to pray to that god with all of your heart, that god will grant you your wish!"

"Hmn…" The brother tilts his head to the side.

"And you know what else? She waves her hand to me and said good bye to me! She even said that she hope to see me again! Nobody has ever said anything like that to me before!"

"…" The brother doesn't respond. He just shakes a little and then leans on his sister's left shoulder. He has already fell asleep.

"… Silly little boy…" The sister sighs, then use her right hand to pet her little brother's head. "If you're that tired then why didn't you say anything? There's no need to push yourself for me."

The sister the leans her head on her brother's head and closes her eyes.

And so, the twins slowly fall into sleep peacefully…

…

"Hey, hey! Wake up, you two."

A voice of some stranger wakes the twins up. They yawn, they stretch their arms and look around and found out that it is already night.

The twins then take look at the one who has woken them up. It was an old man, possibly in his 50, he dresses in strange clothes and wear a funny hat that the twins have never seen before, he's holding a candle to light up the area in one hand, and some kind of bracelet or necklace, the girl doesn't know, on the other.

"I was only out for a walk, and look what I found… Who are you two? Are you lost or something? There's youkai lurking everywhere on this mountain at night, it isn't safe to sleep around here." The old man tells the twins.

"Ah… We're sorry…" The girl stood up and apologizes to the old man, the boy also quickly follows his sister and do the same.

"Now… Tell me, who are you two? What are you doing up here?" The old man asks.

"Ah… We… We are twins, I'm the older sister and he's my little brother. We heard that we can ask to stay at the temple on this mountain, so we climb all the way up here. But midway, we got tired so we stop to rest, and then when you woke us up, and it's nightfall already…" The girl explains.

"Hmnn… Our temple is not an inn, you know? But whatever…" The old man shakes his head. "Now, tell me your names, I've asked that question thrice already."

"Uh… Our names?" The girl got flustered. She looks over to her little brother, but he too doesn't know what to say.

Everyone has a name to identify themselves, it is common sense. But the twins were abandoned before they even turned 3, before they have a chance to learn to remember their names. And ever since then, they have been living a life constantly bullied, abused and chased everywhere by almost anyone who saw their hair color. So, they have never had a chance to learn about that common sense. They have never question what are their names, for no one has ever ask for their names. This old man is the first to ever ask them such question.

"What's wrong?" The old man got worried.

"Ah… No, it's just… We don't have names…" The girl timidly answers the old man.

"And how is that possible?" The old man raises an eye brow, doubting the girl's claim. "Hmn… Not having a name for yourself is really inconvenient."

The old man take a careful look at the girl, then the boy. Then he asks the girl a strange question. "Now, tell me. What do you think, is the most important thing in life?"

"The most important thing in life?" The girl thinks for a little while, then she glance over her little brother. She thought she should say that it's her little brother that's the most important to her, but that doesn't sound right. She thinks for little bit more, then she answers the old man. "Maybe… If I have to choose… Maybe it's faith."

"And why is that?" The old man continues to ask the girl.

"Because… Life isn't always beautiful, but it isn't always horrible, either. But by having faith, by keep believing in what you believe, you will be able to keep moving on with your life. No matter how bad everyone else is, no matter how horrible everything else is or how dirty the whole world is. If you have faith, you can always stay pure and be true to yourself." The girl answers.

"I'm impressed." The old man applauds. "I don't exactly understand the last part you said, but you've answered well for someone so young."

Then the old man turns toward the little brother, and asks the boy the same question he just asked the sister. "What do you think is the most important thing in life?"

The boy, unlike his sister, pauses for a second then immediately answers the old man. "It's lives!"

"Oh, and why is that?" The old man continues to ask the boy.

"Because… I don't know how to say this, but… I think that everything surrounds us all have their own lives… But nobody appreciate those lives. People only care about themselves and are ignorant to everything else… Nobody cares about the animals they killed to make food… Those animals have their own lives, but nobody cares because animals are not humans… And, um… There's more, but I don't know how to say it…" The boy says.

"…" The old man doesn't say anything, he just stares at the little boy.

"Um… Was that answer… unsatisfied?" The boy timidly asks.

"Ahahaha…" The old man bursts out laughing, and pat the boy's shoulders continuously. "No, my boy. Your answer was very satisfying."

"Now, you two…" The old man pulls the twins toward himself and happily announce. "From this moment, I shall name the sister Byakuren! And the brother, I shall name you Myouren!"

"Byakuren…?"

"Myouren…?"

"That's right." The old man turns toward the sister. "Byakuren means White Lotus. It's a name of a flower that's most famous for always being pure and staying true to itself even when it's grown in a middle of a pond of mud. I think it suits you very well."

"And you." The old man turns toward the brother. "Your name, Myouren, has the word for "life" in it. I think it suits your idea about lives very well."

Then the man whispers something to the boy, or rather, Myouren. "By the way, my name is also Myouren. And I'm also the head monk of the temple on this mountain."

Then, the head monk Myouren laughs and turns and walk away from that area. "Come, follow me and I'll lead you two to the temple."

"Really? Oh, thank you so much, mister!" The girl, Byakuren, jumps with joy and quickly runs after the head monk.

"Ah, wait for me, sis…" Then the boy, Myouren, quickly follows suit.

Byakuren and Myouren.

Remember those names.

…


End file.
